For today, links to 18 reports: from Middle East Eye, Anadolu Agency, National Public Radio, Reuters, the Associated Press, Declassified Australia, and the Grayzone, and to commentary from Reuters, Middle East Eye, Consortium News, and the University of Pittsburgh; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (IRAN 6-21-25 is HERE, or scroll down. GAZA entry for this date is HERE, or scroll up.) — MCM
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Iranians say their hopes of peace have been buried by U.S. bombs. From Middle East Eye. According to the U.S. military, 125 warplanes were used in the operation, 14 30,000-pound massive ordinance penetrator bombs were dropped on nuclear sites and B2 bombers and a nuclear submarine were involved. READ MORE . . .
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World awaits Iran’s response after Trump says U.S. ‘obliterates’ nuclear sites. From Reuters. Iran has yet to follow through on its main threats of retaliation against the United States. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said today in Istanbul that Tehran would consider all possible responses, that there would be no return to diplomacy until it had retaliated. READ MORE . . .
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Iran hits back at Israel after U.S. attacks, many casualties, by Ikrame Imane Kouachi | Anadolu Agency ANKARA — A major escalation unfolded early this morning as Iran launched a large-scale missile barrage targeting multiple locations across Israel following a US strike on its nuclear facilities. According to the daily Israel Hayom, Iran launched . . . READ MORE . . .
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U.S. ‘crossed every red line’ with latest attack on nuclear facilities: Iranian FM, by Zehra Nur Çelik | Anadolu Agency ANKARA — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, during a press conference in Istanbul today, warned that diplomacy may no longer be possible. The recent U.S. strikes on Iran, he said, are . . . READ MORE . . .
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Iran’s foreign minister says U.S. strikes were ‘outrageous.’ Ayesha Rascoe of NPR asks Arash Azizi, who studies both Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the Iranian opposition, what Iran’s next moves may be now that the U.S. has struck its nuclear sites. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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Are Americans at risk after U.S. bombing of Iran? Ayesha Rascoe of NPR asks Middle East analyst, author, negotiator and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace senior fellow Aaron David Miller for his views on the U.S strike on Iran. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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Former U.S ambassador to Israel discusses U.S. bombing of Iran. Ayesha Rascoe of NPR speaks with Dan Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, about the regional impact of American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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Countries in the Middle East call for de-escalation as fears of a wider war grow. Reported by Aya Batrawy and Ayesha Rascoe | NPR Countries across the Middle East are concerned about further escalation after the U.S. struck Iran, fearing retaliation could draw in Gulf Arab states. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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Israel’s potential next moves after the U.S. bombed Iran. Ayesha Rascoe of NPR speaks with Sarah-Masha Fainberg, a senior research fellow at Tel Aviv University, about Israel’s next moves after the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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Every U.S. citizen, military personnel in region ‘now a legitimate target’: Iranian state TV. From Anadolu Agency. ISTANBUL — Iranian state television said every American citizen and military personnel in the region is “now a legitimate target,” following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites Sunday. READ MORE . . .
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FROM JUNE 21 Trump says Iran’s key nuclear sites ‘obliterated’ by U.S. airstrikes, by Phil Stewart and Steve Holland | Reuters WASHINGTON — U.S. forces struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites, President Donald Trump said late on Saturday, and he warned Tehran it would face more attacks if it did not agree to peace. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for June 22 report from NPR.
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FROM JUNE 21 Iranian missiles struck 14 strategic military sites in Israel’s Haifa, Tel Aviv overnight: IRGC, by Rania Abu Shamala | Anadolu Agency ISTANBUL — The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said Saturday its missiles hit 14 strategic military points in Israel overnight. READ MORE . . .
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FROM JUNE 21 Iran’s military forces launched dozens of drones against Israel in last 24 hours, by Rania R.a. Abushamala | Anadolu Agency ISTANBUL — Iran’s military forces have launched dozens of drones against Israel in the last 24 hours, according to the Iranian Mehr News Agency. “In the past 24 hours,” the military said on Saturday . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM JUNE 21 U.S. has struck three Iranian nuclear sites, Trump says, joining Israeli air campaign, by Aamer Madhani, David Rising and Sam Mednick | AP WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday that the U.S. military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel’s effort to decapitate the country’s nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran’s threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from NPR, and HERE for frequent updates from Middle East Eye.
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FROM JUNE 21 The U.S. plan to bomb Iran, by Peter Cronau | Declassified Australia / Consortium News A plan was developed for the United States to use diplomacy to entice Iran into negotiations that then fail, so Iran can be attacked while the U.S. is pushing a false narrative saying the Iranians “brought it on themselves.” The plan also . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM JUNE 21 Trump official: CIA’s Ratcliffe acts as ‘Mossad stenographer’ on Iran, by Max Blumenthal and Anya Parampil | The Grayzone Having launched a damaging war of attrition with Iran, Tel Aviv is deploying every mechanism at its disposal to compel the US to lurch headlong into the conflict it initiated, but which it can not finish on its own. READ MORE . . .
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Despite clashes with U.S. presidents, Israel’s Netanyahu usually gets his way, by Crispian Balmer | Reuters For over three decades, Netanyahu has clashed with American leaders. He has lectured them, defied them, embarrassed them publicly and privately. And yet, across Democratic and Republican administrations, U.S. military aid has flowed . . . READ MORE . . .
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The price of Netanyahu’s forever wars, by Abed Abou Shhadeh | Middle East Eye This is Netanyahu’s vision for Israel: an ethno-religious, free-market state in permanent conflict with its neighbours, sowing destruction wherever it extends its reach, while actively destabilising the surrounding region. Ironically, this echoes Israel’s critiques of Iran. READ MORE . . .
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FROM JUNE 21 How Iran allowed Israel to attack, by As’ad AbuKhalil | Consortium News / ScheerPost The attack on Iran was not surprising; the ill-preparedness of the Iranian military and intelligence for it was shocking, however. READ MORE . . .
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Over the brink, by Michael Brenner | The University of Pittsburgh / Consortium News / ScheerPost The United States is sacrificing its principles of liberty, its political integrity, the trust that is the bedrock of its democracy, its standing in the world as the “best hope of mankind,” and its capacity to feel for others – including its fellow citizens. READ MORE . . .
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